warts and all

 Just because it's September doesn't mean that we don't have COLOR!

soldier beetle in a zinnia

Brilliant purple ironweed...

The color of our apples tells me that it's time to start picking!

Some of our colorful autumn sedum is blooming...

...and the hydrangeas are starting to blush around the edges.  Yep, starting to look like fall!

Recent rain has absolutely flattened a lot of my tall flowers.  Every year I intend to build in some kind of support system, and every year it's just too late by the time I think of it.  But at least the downed flowers provide waves of color!

The weeds love our wet, humid days, and have gotten completely out of control in the back garden.  In the middle, I can see a bright patch of flowers...

...but the weeds have grown incredibly since the last time I mowed the paths.  I can't even get through to pick flowers for bouquets (ticks!), so I'm just enjoying them from a distance...and waiting for a break in the weather so I can mow again.  

Ditto for my pumpkin patch!  The weeds grew up through the vines, so I can just glimpse a bit of color against the green.  I'm not sure when to pick them, because I have no idea what I planted.  I guess I'll just pick them when I like the way they look!

warts and all!

The brilliant yellow flowers provide a nice pop of color, too. I know that I mentioned my worry over poor pollination, but what a relief...the pumpkin patch is absolutely crammed full of every kind of pollinator.  I counted three bees...four?...in this one flower alone!

Hairy pumpkin stems are a delight, too.

I've been keeping an eye out for squash bugs, and quickly took care of these three intruders on a young pumpkin.  After the fact, I realized that they were not squash bugs, but assassin bug nymphs.  What do you call someone who kills an assassin? ;)  Anyway, I deeply regret it, because they are wonderful to have in the garden.

Inside, kittens continue to be adorable.

Frances is continually begging Calliope to become his friend, but she ignores him.  It's kind of pitiful, hearing his sad trills every day, but I guess he'll give up eventually.  Calliope is definitely not interested in any kind of fellowship.

Frances has branched out to sleeping on my keyboard...

...and requires a twice-daily nap in my arms.  It's a good thing that I work from home!  ;)

Barnabas is starting to follow his example.  My lap stays pretty full...just like my days.  Loving this cooler time as we slowly slide into fall.

Have a great week!